


It Could Be Love

by BananaChef



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Episode: s01e21 Tooms, F/M, First Kiss, Love Confessions, POV Third Person Omniscient, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29088312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananaChef/pseuds/BananaChef
Summary: He’d known what they were saying underneath all the posturing—all of it meant, I love you—but he hadn’t expected Scully to act on it. It was dangerous and could lead to ruin—both of the X-Files and of their careers.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	It Could Be Love

“It’s not enough,” Mulder griped, roughly tossing the rendering onto the dash with a sigh. “It doesn’t tie it to Tooms.”

“Well, it’s a start,” Scully assured him, taking the pause in the conversation to look around the car. “Mulder, it’s getting a bit ripe in here, don’t you think?” She picked up a cardboard four-cup-holder, her eyebrows raising while her nose scrunched in mild disgust.

He leaned forward and rooted around in the glove compartment, pulling out a car freshener. “Pine-scented. Better?” Mulder waved it around, bringing it to her nose for a quick sniff before hanging it on the rearview mirror. “Tooms hasn’t come out of the house all day. I sat through a Phillies game, an Orioles game, and four hours of Baba Booey. When it got dark, I took a walk around the block.” He suddenly turned to Scully, gesturing to her bag. “Do you have that sandwich I asked you to bring?”

“It’s liverwurst,” she said, taking it out and handing it to him. She could tell he was ravenous by the way he didn’t even bother to unwrap the whole sandwich before taking a large bite. “Mulder, you know that proper surveillance requires two pairs of agents, one pair relieving the other after twelve hours.”

“Article 30, paragraph 8.7?”

 _Don’t speak with your mouth full,_ Scully wanted to say, but didn’t. “This isn’t about doing it by the book, this is about you not having slept for three days. Mulder, you’re going to get sloppy and you’re going to get hurt—it’s inevitable at this point!”

“A request for other agents to stake out Tooms would be denied. To them, we have no grounds.”

“Well, then I’ll stay here, you go home.”

Mulder sighed, swallowing his bite and looking out the window. “They’re out to put an end to the X-Files, Scully,” he said, voice gentle with sadness and regret. “I don’t know why, but any excuse’ll do.” He ventured a look at Scully, the gentleness often found in his eyes when he was with her present. “Now, I don’t really care about my record, but you’d be in trouble just sitting in this car. And I’d hate to see you carry an official reprimand in your career file because of me.”

Scully was silent for a moment, struck with emotion. They’d never gotten so close to talking about how they felt towards each other. “Fox...” she started tenderly, but he laughed, tickled by the use of his first name.

When he saw the look of hurt on her face the laughter ceased, though, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest. The thought of hurting Scully was a terrible one, and his regret was sudden and fierce. “I—I...even made my parents call me Mulder. So...so, Mulder.”

Scully nodded, looking down at her lap before meeting his intent gaze again. “Mulder, I wouldn’t put myself on the line for anyone but you.”

“If there’s an iced tea in that bag...could be love,” he tried to joke, mustering a smile that went against the gentle tone of his voice.

She reached into her bag and raised an eyebrow sardonically, but the rest of her face betrayed how she felt about what neither of them would voice. “Must be fate, Mulder.” Scully brought out an iced beverage in a can and handed it to him. “Root beer,” she added at his expectant look.

“Ah,” Mulder exhaled, pretending like his heart wasn’t racing like a galloping horse.

(“Did you know that root beer is actually root tea, Scully?” he’d asked her once, sipping from a can he’d bought at a vending machine.

“No, Mulder, I didn’t know that. Interesting fact.” She’d given him a smile, momentarily looking up from her files.

“Yeah, apparently it’s only called root beer for marketing purposes. Who knew?”)

Mulder unscrewed the lid and took a sip, exhaling hyperbolically. He’d barely screwed the lid back on when Scully’s hand came around to cup his cheek and turn his face to hers, pressing their lips together. He’d known what they were saying underneath all the posturing—all of it meant, _I love you_ —but he hadn’t expected Scully to act on it. It was dangerous and could lead to ruin—both of the X-Files and of their careers.

“Scully...” Mulder murmured, but she just pressed her lips against his more insistently, opening up to him. “Dana.” She reluctantly pulled away, eyes downcast. He pressed his forehead against hers before doubt could truly settle in and grabbed her hand, rooting around for a cup holder and shoving the root beer into it. “I...I _want_ to, but it’s—”

“—not safe. Yeah, I know. But I’m _tired_ of being safe. I’ve been playing it safe for most of my life, and I’m not fond of it.”

“No, Dana, you—you don’t understand. It could mean your career; it could mean our _lives._ I—I can’t ask you to do that.”

She pulled away from him and for a moment, he was afraid that in ten seconds, everything was about to change again; Scully would leave him and get a reassignment from the X-Files and he’d be alone again. Then, Scully cupped his cheeks in her hands, brushing her thumbs over his cheeks. “What if I _want_ to?”

Mulder couldn’t contain the elation rising inside him at her words and kissed her again, tangling his fingers in his hair. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back, brushing her fingers over his stubble.

“You know better than perhaps anyone I know that some risks are worth taking,” Scully told him softly, pulling away enough to look into his eyes. “It’s morbid, but I would rather die young having loved you than grow old never knowing your touch, Mulder.”

He looked at her tenderly, tears pooling into his eyes. “You mean the world to me, Dana. I feel like I haven’t really been living all these years since Samantha was abducted, but now that I know you, I am again.”

“Mulder...” she whispered, her voice breaking.

“No, it’s true. I mean, when I met you, the only thing I was living for was the intangible truth of the X-Files, but now...now I’m living for the sound of your laugh, and—and your eyes when you smile, and your jokes and your intelligence, too. I love you, in a way I’ve never loved anyone else before.”

“Oh, Mulder... I love you, too. Somewhere along the way, you became more than my work partner.” Scully smiled, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. “You should get some sleep.” She leaned forward and kissed each of his eyelids, brushing her thumbs over Mulder’s lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” he murmured, bringing the back of Scully’s hand to his lips so he could press a kiss to the back. She nodded before exiting the car. _Tomorrow._


End file.
